As you may have read, celebrated novelist John Updike has died at the age of 76. Honestly, I’ve never read any of his works, but while reading his obituary I was struck by his comments about science and faith:
“I remember the times when I was wrestling with these issues that I would feel crushed. I was crushed by the purely materialistic, atheistic account of the universe… I am very prone to accept all that the scientists tell us, the truth of it, the authority of the efforts of all the men and woman spent trying to understand more about atoms and molecules. But I can’t quite make the leap of unfaith, as it were, and say, ‘This is it. Carpe diem (seize the day), and tough luck.’”
In short, Mr. Updike clung to his faith because (to him) the alternative was too bleak. This may explain why a great many very smart people continue to believe in God.